The Largo is an architectural ensemble of three Socialist Classicism

Stalinist architecture

Stalinist architecture , also referred to as Stalinist Gothic, or Socialist Classicism, is a term given to architecture of the Soviet Union between 1933, when Boris Iofan's draft for Palace of the Soviets was officially approved, and 1955, when Nikita Khrushchev condemned "excesses" of the past...

 edifices in central Sofia

Sofia

Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...

, the capital of Bulgaria

Bulgaria

Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...

, designed and built in the 1950s with the intention to become the city's new representative centre. Today it is regarded as one of the prime examples of Socialist Classicism architecture in Southeastern Europe, as well as one of the main landmarks of Sofia.

The ensemble consists of the former Party House (former headquarters of the now defunct Bulgarian Communist Party

Bulgarian Communist Party

The Bulgarian Communist Party was the communist and Marxist-Leninist ruling party of the People's Republic of Bulgaria from 1946 until 1990 when the country ceased to be a communist state...

), now used by the National Assembly of Bulgaria

National Assembly of Bulgaria

The National Assembly of Bulgaria is the unicameral parliament and body of the legislative of the Republic of Bulgaria.The National Assembly of Bulgaria was established in 1879 with the Constitution of Bulgaria.-Ordinary National Assembly:...

, in the centre, and two side edifices: one today accommodating the TZUM

TZUM

TZUM-Sofia is an upmarket department store in the centre of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, officially opened in 1957 and situated in a monumental edifice on one of the city's main boulevards....

 department store and the Council of Ministers of Bulgaria

Council of Ministers of Bulgaria

The Council of Ministers is the main authority of the executive power in the Republic of Bulgaria. It consists of the Prime Minister of Bulgaria and all the specialized ministers....

 and another that is today occupied by the President's Office, the Sheraton Sofia Hotel Balkan

Sheraton Hotels and Resorts

Sheraton Hotels and Resorts is Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide's largest and second oldest brand . Starwood's headquarters are in White Plains, New York.-Sheraton history:...

 and the Ministry of Education.

A Council of Ministers of Bulgaria decree

Decree

A decree is a rule of law issued by a head of state , according to certain procedures . It has the force of law...

 was published in 1951 regarding the construction of the Largo. The lot in the centre of the city, damaged by the bombing of Sofia in World War II

Bombing of Sofia in World War II

The Bulgarian capital of Sofia suffered a series of Allied bombing raids during World War II, from late 1943 to early 1944. Bulgaria declared a token war on the United Kingdom and the United States on 13 December 1941...

, was cleared in the autumn of 1952, so that the construction of the new buildings could begin in the following years. The Party House building, once crowned by a red star

Red star

A red star, five-pointed and filled, is an important ideological and religious symbol which has been used for various purposes, such as: state emblems, flags, monuments, ornaments, and logos.- Symbol of communism :...

 on a pole, was designed by a team under architect Petso Zlatev and completed in 1955. The Ministry of Electrification office, later occupied by the State Council and today by the President's Office, the work of Petso Zlatev, Petar Zagorski and other architects, was finished the following year, while the TZUM part of the edifice, designed by a team under Kosta Nikolov, followed in 1957. The fountain between the President's Office and the older National Archaeological Museum

National Archaeological Museum (Bulgaria)

The National Archaeological Museum is an archaeological museum in the centre of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. It occupies the building of the largest and oldest former Ottoman mosque in the city, Büyük camii , built from stone around 1474 under Mehmed II...

, was shaped in 1958. The Largo also once featured a statue of Vladimir Lenin

Vladimir Lenin

Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and communist politician who led the October Revolution of 1917. As leader of the Bolsheviks, he headed the Soviet state during its initial years , as it fought to establish control of Russia in the Russian Civil War and worked to create a...

, which was later removed and replaced by the one of St. Sophia in 2000.

The yellow-cobblestoned square around which the ensemble is centred is called Nezavisimost (Independence) Square. It consists of two lanes with a lawn in the middle, where today the flags of all NATO member states stand. Nezavisimost Square is formed by the Knyaz Aleksandar Dondukov Boulevard

Knyaz Aleksandar Dondukov Boulevard

Knyaz Aleksandar Dondukov Boulevard , shortly referred to as Dondukov, is an important central boulevard in Sofia. It is named after the Russian general and statesman Alexander Dondukov-Korsakov. It lies between the TZUM and the Chavdar bridge...

 and Tsar Osvoboditel Boulevard

Tsar Osvoboditel Boulevard

Tsar Osvoboditel Boulevard is a boulevard in the centre of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. It lies between Orlov most to the east and Nezavisimost Square to the west, where it merges with Knyaz Aleksandar Dondukov Boulevard to form Todor Aleksandrov Boulevard west of the square...

 merging from the east to continue as Todor Aleksandrov Boulevard west of the Largo.

Following the democratic changes after 1989, the symbols of communism

Communism

Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...

 in the decoration of the Largo were removed, with the most symbolic act being the removing of the red star on a pole atop the former Party House using a helicopter

Helicopter

A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...

 and its substitution by the flag of Bulgaria

Flag of Bulgaria

The flag of Bulgaria is a tricolour consisting of three equal-sized horizontal bands of white, green, and red. The flag was first adopted after the Russo-Turkish War , where Bulgaria gained independence. The national flag at times was charged with the state emblem, especially during the People's...

. In the 1990s there have been suggestions to reshape the former Party House, sometimes regarded as an imposing remnant of a past ideology, by introducing more modern architectural elements. According to the new architectural plan of Sofia, Nezavisimost Square is being reorganized. The lawn and the flags in the centre are to be substituted by a glass lid on the floor, so that the ruins of the ancient Thracian

Thracians

The ancient Thracians were a group of Indo-European tribes inhabiting areas including Thrace in Southeastern Europe. They spoke the Thracian language – a scarcely attested branch of the Indo-European language family...

 and Roman

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

 city of Serdica can be exposed in an impressive way, thus becoming a tourist attraction. The two underpasses

Subway (underpass)

In England and Wales, the Republic of Ireland, Hong Kong and some Commonwealth countries , the term subway normally refers to a specially constructed underpass for pedestrians and/or cyclists beneath a road or railway, allowing them to reach the other side in safety.The term is also used in the...

, the one in front of the former Party House and the one with the medieval Church of St Petka

Church of St Petka

The Church of St Petka of the Saddlers is a medieval Bulgarian Orthodox church in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria.It is a small one-naved building partially dug into the ground located in the very centre of both the modern and the antique city, in the TZUM subway...

, are also planned to be connected.